About
The Kidney Cancer Association was founded in 1990 by Eugene P. Schonfeld and a small group of patients and doctors in Chicago, Illinois and has grown into an international non-profit organization. The KCA promotes scientific advances through two annual research symposiums and a robust grant program, participates in legislative advocacy, and seeks to be a source of education and resources for patients, caregivers, and anyone impacted by kidney cancer.
Our vision is to be the universal leader in finding the cure for kidney cancer.
Our mission is to be a global community dedicated to serving and empowering patients and caregivers, and leading change through advocacy, research, and education.
Gretchen E. Vaughan
President & CEO
Houston, Texas
Kendall Monroe
Chief Advancement Officer
Houston, Texas
Dr. Salvatore La Rosa
Chief Scientific Officer
Miami, Florida
Ryan Cerezo
Development Manager
Lathrop, California
Radha Chitale
Senior Director of Communications
Washington, D.C.
Rosemary Chustak
Patient Liaison
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gabriela Galvan
Program Coordinator
Houston, Texas
Christine Kelly-Weaver
Executive Assistant to the President and CEO
Houston, Texas
Melissa Lopez
Gift Operations Associate
Punta Gorda, Florida
Amy Marbaugh
Senior Director of Patient Programs
Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Shirley
Director of Advancement Services (Contractor)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Jeanette Stensgaard
Director of Events (Contractor)
Denver, Colorado
Sarah Tuck
Senior Manager of Patient Programs
Holland, Pennsylvania
Maggie Valdes
Director of Development & Community Engagement
New Orleans, Louisiana
Angela Washington
Vice President of Operations
Houston, Texas
Sarah Wood
Clinical Engagement Coordinator
Houston, Texas
Eric A. Singer, MD, MA, MS, FACS, FASCO (Chair)
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, Ohio
Tessa Churchill, MD, MBA (Secretary)
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Chicago, Illinois
Mahul B. Amin, MD
Vice President, Lab Corp of America
San Diego, California
Natalie Johnson, MS
Vidl Work
Sarasota, Florida
Brian Shuch, MD
UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology
Los Angeles, California
Ruben Ybarra
Enbridge, Inc.
Houston, Texas
Bradley Leibovich, MD, FACS (Transitioning Chair Emeritus)
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Rochester, Minnesota
Joel Stern (Treasurer)
National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, Inc. (Retired)
Kildeer, Illinois
Daniel J. George, MD
Duke Cancer Institute
Durham, North Carolina
David Perry, Esq.
K&L Gates LLP (Retired)
Irvine, California
Gretchen E. Vaughan
President and Chief Executive Officer, Kidney Cancer Association
Houston, Texas
Ronald M. Bukowski, MD (Lifetime Emeritus)
Bukowski Consulting LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Ryan Natzke (Vice-Chair)
Marshfield Clinic Health System
Madison, Wisconsin
Laurence Albiges, MD, PhD
Professor, Institut Gustave Roussy
Paris, France
Rich Haag
Nexus Power
Billings, Montana
Shelley Robson
Executive Director, International and Principal Gifts, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Laura Wood, RN, MSN, OCN
Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center (Retired)
Cleveland, Ohio
Dolph Lundgren (Emeritus)
Thor Pictures, Red Orm Productions
Los Angeles, California
Laurence Albiges, MD, PhD
Professor, Institut Gustave Roussy
Paris, France
Ronald M. Bukowski, MD (Emeritus)
Emeritus Staff, Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center
Cleveland, Ohio
Jose Karam, MD, FACS
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Sumanta Pal, MD
City of Hope
Duarte, California
Brian Rini, MD, FASCO
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Walter M. Stadler, MD, FACP (Emeritus)
University of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois
Mahul B. Amin, MD
Vice President, Lab Corp of America
San Diego, California
Matthew Campbell, MD, MS
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Bradley C. Leibovich, MD
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Rochester, Minnesota
Thomas Powles, MBBS, MRCP, MD
Barts Cancer Institute
London, England, UK
Brian Shuch, MD (Vice-Chair)
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Nizar M. Tannir, MD, FACP (Emeritus)
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Axel Bex, MD, PhD
The Netherlands Cancer Institute
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Daniel J. George, MD (Chair)
Duke Cancer Institute
Durham, North Carolina
Pavlos Msaouel, MD, PhD
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Sarah Psutka, MD
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Eric Singer, MD, MA, MS, FACS, FASCO
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Tian Zhang, MD
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
*The Medical Steering Committee provides strategic guidance to KCA in the planning of its medical education activities as well as supervision of the content of its patient education programs and literature. This committee is also charged with responsibility for selection of members of the planning committees for all medical symposiums sponsored by KCA.
Laura S. Wood, RN, MSN, OCN (Chair)
Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center (Retired)
Cleveland, Ohio
Jessica Cheng, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Zita Lim, PA-C
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Renata Penafiel, PA-C, MPAS
Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center-James
Columbus, Ohio
Emily Wang, PharmD, BCOP
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Nancy Moldawer, RN, MSN (Emeritus)
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California
Julia Batten, APRN, MSN, MPH
Huntsman Cancer Institute
Salt Lake City, Utah
Reena Cherry, MS, PA-C
UC San Diego Health
San Diego, California
Lidia Lopez, DNP, MBA
UCLA Health
Los Angeles, California
Virginia J. Seery, MSN, RN, ANP-BC
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Nazy Zomorodian, NP
UCLA Health
Los Angeles, California
Sarah Benitez, LCSW, OSW-C
Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, Florida
Jan Jackson, RN
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Sweta Patel, BSN, RN, OCN
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York
Julia Stevens, PharmD, BCOP
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Patricia Fischer RN, MSN, OCN (Emeritus)
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York
*Mission: The mission of the Clinical Advisory Board (CAB) is to provide kidney cancer relevant information to patients and caregivers and health care professionals.
Ryan Natzke (Chair)
Madison, Wisconsin
Sean Healy
Henrico, Virginia
Ritchie Johnson
Houston, Texas
Annamaria Scaccia
Austin, Texas
Lindsay Walker
Wilsonville, Oregon
Kathleen Campbell
Mineral, Virginia
Bruce Hill
Hudson Valley, New York
Matt McClain
San Juan Capistrano, California
Nicole Scott
Circleville, Ohio
Salima Witt
San Diego, California
John Ferrell
Austin, Texas
Vineeta Hiranandani
San Francisco, California
Sid Sadler
White Bluff, Tennessee
Claudia Tatum
Bixby, Oklahoma
Peggy Zuckerman
Long Beach, California
*Mission: The Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council serves as the voice of the patient and provides the vital link between the patient community and the Kidney Cancer Association.
Legal Information
The KCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; federal taxpayer identification number 36-3719712.
